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UPDATED: Proposed driveway leads to controversy in Fitchburg

By Anna Burgess, aburgess@sentinel andenterprise.com

Updated:
07/03/2016 03:56:24 PM EDT

Editor's note: This story has been amended from the original to make corrections and clarifications

FITCHBURG -- A group of conservation-conscious neighbors is pushing back against two new city landowners who, after receiving city approval, are in the process of building a driveway close to protected wetlands.

In May, Jaffe and Slater submitted two possible plans to build a driveway on their land to the Department of Public Works. The plans included a layer showing a wetland layer from the official state wetlands map, specifically a small stream running along their property. Both proposed options were approved.

After the city gave them the go-ahead to begin construction, Eric Gionet, a landscaping contractor, started building the driveway on Jaffe and Slater's property on what used to be a cart path.

That's when they ran into a problem -- the driveway was closely bordered by wetlands at its base, and their project was in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act, which requires at least a 100-foot buffer between wetlands and any building project. The commission must approve any project within the buffer zone, and no project can come within 20 feet of wetlands without a waiver.

Their neighbors, Eleanora Leici and Evan Halstead, noticed the problem in May and brought their concerns to City Planner Mike O'Hara, who talked with Slater and Jaffe.

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They then filed a Notice of Intent with the Conservation Commission, and will be applying for a waiver to build within 20 feet, because they were told by Conservation Agent Tim Smith that their ongoing project was actually the least disruptive option to the wetlands.

Tuesday night's Conservation Commission meeting was the result of that filing, with land surveyor Bryan Hill arguing on behalf of Slater and Jaffe that their project should go ahead because it has the least environmental impact of all access options.

More than a dozen neighbors attended the meeting, including Leici and Halstead.

"The wetlands are important to me," Leici said. "We want to focus on the environment in Fitchburg, and we need to respect what we have."

Wetlands act as a sponge, she said, filtering out pollution before it reaches nearby streams, ponds and rivers. If the wetlands become clogged by sediment running off a driveway, bodies of water will eventually be impacted as well.

The wetlands near Sheldon Road are a man made pond in Leici and Halstead's backyard, as well as a small seasonal stream that runs to the Nashua River. Jaffe and Slater said the city's conservation agent, Tim Smith, told them after surveying the newly installed driveway that with some small modifications the driveway will not be a problem for the manmade pond or seasonal stream.

Slater said she and Jaffe "care about the wetlands as much as anybody else," and were not aware how close they would be building to the wetlands.

They have "really no other option" as far as where to build their driveway," Hill said.

"Our goal is to be a positive presence in the community and a bastion of sustainable agriculture," Jaffe said. "We feel badly that we didn't go through the right process."

Jaffe added that they only plan to build a home for themselves and a barn for their four horses on the land.

Leici and Halstead said they were told otherwise by Gionet, to whom Jaffe and Slater plan to give several acres of land in exchange for helping them build and maintain their property. Slater said Gionet only plans to build a small home for his family.

The website on which Jaffe and Slater solicited developing assistance in exchange for 5.2 acres of land says they "are not putting a restriction on how the land is used."

Slater and Jaffe are not developers. Slater is a writer and Jaffe runs a startup out of MIT.

Gionet was also at the meeting but declined to comment on his plans for the land.

Jaffe pointed out that asking about future building projects was "beyond the scope" of the meeting.
Neighbors and commission members agreed that the most pressing issue is what will be done to the wetlands.

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